A view that delivers a presentation on two monitors simultaneously.

What this does is when I start the presentation that only shows the output of the presentation on my right display, but it also shows a timer, the slides themselves, what my next slide will be, if there’s any notes for the individual slide and handy tools that will allow you to manipulate information outside of the view of the audience while working.

Table of Contents Show

Connect a second display
Arrange the screens in Windows and PowerPoint
Share the Slide Show screen in Teams or Zoom
Deliver your presentation

(Note: This is the Windows version of this article. Click here for the Mac version.)

Many presenters use Presenter View in a meeting room so they can see their speaking notes on their own screen while the audience sees the slides on the screen behind them. This feature of PowerPoint works when you extend your screen to a second screen (the projector or large screen TV) that is attached to your laptop.

When you are presenting in Microsoft Teams or Zoom, how can you use Presenter View in PowerPoint?

Connect a second display

The easiest setup is if you have a second screen attached to your laptop. Many people, like myself, find their laptop screen too small to easily read so they have a larger screen attached in order to see the text easier. If you have this setup, remember that you have to use the display mode of extending your laptop screen on to the second screen in order to use Presenter View. If you typically use just the second screen like I do, make sure to switch the mode before you start your presentation. Then switch it back when the presentation is over.

If you don’t have a second screen and want to use Presenter View in this way, look for a display you can connect as a second display during the presentation. One option that is available for many people is to connect a TV as the second screen. Connect the TV to your laptop via a regular HDMI cable. Then you can extend your laptop screen on to the TV. This article lists nine options you can consider for adding a second screen.

Arrange the screens in Windows and PowerPoint

When you have two screens, you will need to think about the arrangement of the displays. In a meeting room you don’t have to usually think about this. In the Windows 10 Display Settings you can arrange the two displays so Windows arranges them as you have them physically positioned on your desk. This will make it much easier to use.

In PowerPoint you can decide which display has the slides. On the Slide Show ribbon, click on the Set Up Slide Show button to display the Set Up Show dialog box. In the lower right of the dialog box, use the drop down list to select the Slide show monitor and check the box to use Presenter View.

If you have a large desktop monitor attached to your laptop, consider using the laptop screen as the slide show monitor so that your notes are easier to read on the larger screen. If you have temporarily connected a TV, consider showing the slides on the TV so that you can easily see your notes on your laptop which is likely positioned closer to you than the TV will be. If your webcam will be on, consider where it is located when deciding on which screen should have Presenter View as you want to be looking at the webcam when you are referring to your notes.

With the two screens set up, you can now use Presenter View in PowerPoint. Move the Teams or Zoom window to the screen that will have Presenter View. Start Slide Show mode in PowerPoint. Click the icon in the top right of the Presenter View window to take it out of full screen mode. You may have to resize it if it flows across to the other screen. Now you can access the meeting controls in Teams or Zoom.

In Teams or Zoom, share the screen that has the slide show on it. In Teams, select the screen in the Desktop section that has the slide show (Screen #1 in this example):

In Zoom, select the screen that has the slide show, Screen 2 in this example:

Deliver your presentation

The audience only sees what you share, so they only see the screen that has your slides. You continue to be able to see your notes and advance the slides. If the minimized Teams window displays on the screen with the slide show, drag it to the other screen. Since Presenter View is not full screen, you can access other content on that screen if needed. When you are done, stop sharing your screen before you exit Slide Show mode so that the audience does not see anything else that is on that screen.

Another advantage of using Presenter View with a second screen is that you can use the PowerPoint inking feature to draw or highlight content on your slides. Move the mouse from the screen with Presenter View to the screen with the slides. You can right-click to access the inking tools or use the shortcut keys. You can also use the inking by right-clicking on the slide in Presenter View or using the shortcut keys while the mouse is on the slide in Presenter View.

Video

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world. His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don’t overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 3.5 million times and liked over 14,000 times on YouTube.

You can present with 2 monitors: Using Presenter View is a great way to view your presentation with speaker notes on one monitor (your laptop, for example), while your audience views the notes-free presentation on a different monitor (like a larger screen you're projecting to).

Note: Make sure the device you're using for your presentation supports the use of multiple monitors. Check with your manufacturer for up-to-date information about multiple monitor support.

To do this procedure and split the view between projectors in this way, you must be connected to the second screen.

On the Slide Show tab, in the Monitors group, select Use Presenter View.

Windows Display Settings should open.
In the Display Settings dialog box, on the Monitor tab, select the monitor icon that you want to use to view your speaker notes, and then select the This is my main monitor check box.

If the This is my main monitor check box is selected and unavailable, the monitor is already designated as the primary monitor.
Select the monitor icon for the second monitor—the one the audience will watch, and then select the Extend my Windows Desktop onto this monitor check box.

Notes: If the Windows Display Settings don't open, do the following:

Windows 10: Click Start > Settings > System > Display. At the top, under Customize your display, is a diagram of the screens connected to your computer, with each screen numbered. If you are connected to a project, typically it will be represented in the diagram as screen 2. Select screen 1 in the diagram, then scroll downward. Ensure that the check box named Make this my main display is selected. Above that check box, in the Multiple displays list, select Extend these displays.
Windows 8: Right-click the Windows Start button, click Control Panel >Display > Adjust resolution. In the Multiple displays list, click Extend these displays. Select the monitor on which you want to view your speaker notes, and click Make this my main display.

You can use PowerPoint on your smartphone as a remote control to run your presentation and view your speaker notes. See Using a laser pointer on your smartphone when presenting in PowerPoint for more information, including a brief video.

On the Slide Show tab, in the Set Up group, click Set Up Slide Show.
In the Set Up Show dialog box, choose the options that you want, and then click OK. If you choose Automatic, PowerPoint will display speaker notes on the laptop monitor, if available. Otherwise, PowerPoint will display speaker notes on the main display identified in your Display settings (Settings > Display).

(PowerPoint 2010) To see your speaker notes on your primary monitor. select your secondary monitor from the Display slide show on list.
To begin delivering your presentation, on the Slide Show tab, click From the Beginning, or click the Slide Show button
at the bottom of the PowerPoint window.

PowerPoint does something behind the scenes to make the process of starting a slide show on a second monitor as smooth and quick as possible. When you enter Slide Show, PowerPoint automatically changes your display settings (also known as your display topology) to Extend.

What can be confusing is what happens after your slide show concludes:

In PowerPoint 2013, when your slide show ends, PowerPoint leaves the display topology as Extend. (The benefit of this approach is that the next time you present on a second monitor, the first slide will appear with minimal delay. The drawback is that PowerPoint may be overriding your preferred display setting of "duplicate". Some people don't like this override.)
In newer versions, in the same end-of-slide-show scenario, PowerPoint reverts to your default setting, returning to Duplicate, if that's what you have chosen.

If you are using PowerPoint 2013 and you want PowerPoint to revert to the default setting, rather that keeping the Extend setting, you can tell it to do that by making a small change to the Windows registry as described below.

In this procedure, you are creating a command that adds a new setting to the Windows Registry for PowerPoint, and then you are running that command:

Create a new file in Notepad.
Copy and paste the following three lines of text into Notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\PowerPoint\Options] "RestoreTopology"=dword:00000001
On the File menu in Notepad, click Save As.
Name the file Update.reg. (It's important that the file name extension be .reg).
In the Save as type box, choose All Files (*.*).
Take note of the folder in which you are saving the file. Then click Save, and close Notepad.
Open File Explorer from the Start menu, and navigate to the folder where you saved Update.reg.
Double-click Update.reg.
Answer "Yes" to the two prompts that ensue.